Top 4 Rules for Enjoying Wine

In my experiences with building Wine4.Me, I have learned a few things about enjoying and exploring wines. I shared my top 3 last year with the incredible and inspiring ladies at the Women’s Wine Social at Tasting Room Uptown Park. I now have four top rules for enjoying wine, and I thought I’d share them here, too, for everyone to enjoy.

Top 4 Rules for Enjoying Wine

1. Don’t drink wine you don’t like.

If you don’t like a wine, dump it out or send it back, even if it’s an award-winning, 100-point wine that everyone else says is amazing. It might be amazing to someone else, but it has to be good to you for you to like it. And there are too many fantastic options that will suit you well to settle for something you don’t like. You just might need help finding them.

2. Don’t be shy about asking for a taste.

If you don’t know what to order, ask for a taste of your top two choices to help you decide. Many restaurants and bars will be happy to let you try a wine or two, provided you have every intention of purchasing a glass or bottle. By tasting, you are sure to end up with a wine you’ll enjoy rather than just guessing…and getting it wrong.

3. Remember grape types and areas.

Remember grape types or blends you like, together with the areas the wines are from, to help find more similar wines you might like. Wines should be an expression of the area where the grapes are grown. Different areas impart different flavors on the grapes.

If you can remember, for example, that you like Pinot Noir (that’s the grape type) from Oregon or Sauvignon Blanc (another grape type) from New Zealand, that’s a huge help in guiding you to other wines you might enjoy with similar characteristics. Start by trying other brands of wine from that same area using the same grapes.

4. Use the Wine4.Me app to find wines you’ll like.

Use Wine4.Me to track what you like, and the app will help you find more wines you will like, instead of wasting time and money on wines you won’t like.

What do you think about these rules? Do you drink wine you don’t like? Are you nervous about asking for a taste? Do you have any wine rules that I’ve left out that have helped you explore and enjoy wine? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.